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The masters of ceremony of 48-th Eurovision Song Contest 2003
 For the first time in Eurovision history, two previous performers from Latvia will host the 48-th Eurovision Song Contest on 24 May 2003 in Riga. Marie N came first at the 2002 Contest in Tallinn, whilst Renãrs Kaupers and his group Prãta Vëtra (Brainstorm) won third place in Stockholm in 2000.
Both Renãrs Kaupers and Marie N still remember their own performances at the Eurovision Song Contest. Renãrs Kaupers recalls the pressure: - “Those were three minutes of pure survival. I was nervous, my mouth went dry and I had to fight myself throughout the song”. His third place Eurovision win with “My Star” helped establish Prãta Vëtra’s reputation and since the contest the band members have never looked back. “Eurovision has been the most powerful springboard for our international development”, - claims Renãrs Kaupers, who together with Prãta Vëtra has found chart success not only in Lithuania and Estonia, but also in Scandinavia, Germany and Belgium. Furthermore, his song “Welcome to my Country” has become an irreplaceable part of
Latvia?s promotional video for the last two years.
“I didn’t imagine I would win the Eurovision Song Contest last year. I didn’t even think that I would win the national finals”, - says Marie N, recalling her second place in 2000, her third place in 2001 and her win at the national finals in 2002 with the song “I Wanna” that subsequently won her first place at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tallinn.
 “I don’t know if I’ll ever experience anything like it again. What happened at Eurovision was a shock. I still get emotional when I think of it. You’re invited onto the stage and you end up running, because you can’t walk calmly. People congratulate you; there are countless numbers of questions that have to be answered during the one and a half hour press conference. I remember there being various parties and a bodyguard next to me. Then we all climbed into a mercedes, which for some reason people thought I had been given as a present. We drove to the top of the city in Tallinn and drank wine at five o’clock in the morning. The most emotional moment was the drive back home. Our passports weren’t checked at the border, but there was
a small boy standing there with flowers and a flag! We drove through Latvia with a police escort! I always thought people were just showing off when they placed flowers at the Freedom Monument, but that morning I said: "Please, let?s just go there!" I was taken to the monument and I stood there crying”. - Marie N’s eyes fill with tears as she remembers.
Following her first place win at Eurovision, Marie N was congratulated by the President of Latvia and named the country’s “European of the Year”. She also has received offers from several foreign record companies and recently released her first album in English - “On a Journey”, which she has promoted on tour in the USA.
Prãta Vëtra was formed in 1989 by five teenagers - Renãrs Kaupers, along with Kaspars Roga (Nick William Simon), Jãnis Jubalts (Johnny U. White), Mãris Mihelsons (Mike Minolta) and Gundars Mauevics (Peter Scott Jr.). They continue to top popularity charts. Following their Eurovision 2000 success, Prãta Vëtra released their seventh album “Online” and recently released yet another CD. Renãrs Kaupers and his band members have also performed in the musical “veiks” at the Daile Theatre in Riga and Renãrs Kaupers has played one of the leading roles in the Latvian feature film “The Mysteries of the Old Parish House”.
 Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest will not be anything new for Renãrs Kaupers, given that he has been a DJ on one of Latvia’s largest commercial radio stations, Radio SWH and has also worked for two other stations, Radio Skonto and Radio 2. In the past, he has also hosted the Latvian National TV programme “Silent Show” and the international children’s television festival “Sun Bunny”. Incidentally, the boyish soloist’s seven-year-old twin sons, Emils and Edgars, started school last autumn, whilst his wife Agnese works as a stylist for the popular women’s magazine ”Ieva”.
Marie N is not only known for her four albums, including the album “Ma voix” (an album of chansons sung in French), but also for her theatre performances. At the age of six she appeared in the Russian Drama Theatre’s production of “Tailor Days in Silmaci”, which was followed by roles in “Carrie” (in the same theatre) and the Liepaja Theatre productions of “The Ugly Duckling” and “Ladies Paradise”.
 Whilst Marie N is used to hosting concerts and other events, she is aware that her role on the Eurovision Song Contest stage carries a great deal of responsibility. - “This time it’s going to be far more regulated than in other concerts. Renãrs Kaupers and I have to create an atmosphere so that people will enjoy watching and I hope that it won’t be difficult. We’re cut from the same cloth and I believe that we both have a sense of humour and positive energy”.
“She’s great”,- says Renãrs Kaupers about his co-host. - “Like me, she has experienced the entire process ? from carrying television equipment to stardom”.- Anticipating his role as Eurovision Song Contest host Renãrs Kaupers is mostly worrying about the final stage of the contest, when the votes are counted. - “Will I be able to relax, so that I can savour the moment and the results ?” - he asks himself.
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